I am very glad to see how the city of Portland has handled this situation. This is giving freedom of speech a whole new meaning. Not only the Shaman was able to perform his rituals in a public space, but he was also taken seriously by the local authorities and the media. As Anne Fadiman describes in The Spirit Catches and You Fall Down, most ritualistic ceremonies in the US, like Santeria, have a tendency to be frowned upon, and are for the most part odiously condemned by community or religious members.
I also enjoyed hearing the Hmong language for the first time. Hearing it spoken has added a lot to my reading experience. The more I learn about the Hmong people and what they have gone through in the war in Laos, the refugee camp in Ban Vinai and subsequently, their frightening reception as they arrived as immigrants in the US; the more I feel for Lia's parents and what they went through as refugees. I hope the government and more cities like Portland treat their refugees with the same kind of respect.
I am very glad to see how the city of Portland has handled this situation. This is giving freedom of speech a whole new meaning. Not only the Shaman was able to perform his rituals in a public space, but he was also taken seriously by the local authorities and the media. As Anne Fadiman describes in The Spirit Catches and You Fall Down, most ritualistic ceremonies in the US, like Santeria, have a tendency to be frowned upon, and are for the most part odiously condemned by community or religious members.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed hearing the Hmong language for the first time. Hearing it spoken has added a lot to my reading experience. The more I learn about the Hmong people and what they have gone through in the war in Laos, the refugee camp in Ban Vinai and subsequently, their frightening reception as they arrived as immigrants in the US; the more I feel for Lia's parents and what they went through as refugees. I hope the government and more cities like Portland treat their refugees with the same kind of respect.